Home from the cover shoot in Seattle! Amazing to meet the model portraying Wren Ballantyne and see the cover come to life. I so want to share more and will once I get the green light for the Love’s Fortune reveal. I think this may be my favorite cover yet:). Brandon Hill is so gifted and it was a pleasure watching him do what he does best. Truly an incredible experience and I’m so thankful.
Seattle is a magical place in December. Being with Wyatt and having a great mom-son time in the city was an early Christmas present. Lots of fun downtown at Pikes Place Market and getting coffee and goodies. The window displays are amazing this time of year with all the lights and decorations and pretty party dresses, etc.
Anyway, back home and back to work…
Happy mid-December to you!
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Laura, what grand pictures and such a lovely experience! That’s wonderful you had the opportunity to attend the cover shoot for Love’s Fortune. 🙂 Definitely eager to see the final result!! I know it will be stunning!
These pictures definitely set the mood for the season, my friend. 😀 I LOVE the colors of those dresses! Wish we had more excuses for dressing up in this day and age… Maybe people who live in the big cities do? LOL.
Hope your writing and such is going well! Maybe we’ll get to reveal our “Book 3” covers around the same time…? I’m revealing the cover for Morning Glory on January 3rd. 🙂 No cover shoots for me yet, but working with Lena (my cover designer) and seeing her amazing skills in combining pics and colors is still really special, and I feel so blessed! This book business is really great, craziness and all. 😉
Hugs from California!
~Amber
Oh, you and Lena are a great team with those beautiful covers of yours! They really pop! Helping design from the get-go would be such a rewarding experience as you know just what you want and then it comes to pass. No wishing it was some other way! I love the title but then I like all your titles. Looking forward to seeing them lined up together on a shelf :). Soon…
Yes, the cover shoot experience was truly a dream come true. Can’t say enough good things about Brandon Hill. His studio is quite a magical place 🙂 and meeting my Wren really brought her to life in a special way as she has just the right look. I loved the dress which is not always the case but the lace and bodice and the color on this one really standout. Can’t wait to share more – I usually see the final comp of the cover around the end of January and then it’s the end of February when it goes live on the web. But maybe they’ll surprise me and it will be early. Hope so.
Hugs to you from rainy WA, my authorly friend :)!
It looks like so much fun! I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but one night in a beautiful gown would be amazing. I hope you enjoyed some good coffee.
Cindy, Like you, I’m pretty casual but yes, so much fun it would be to dress up like this ~ and then I looked at the price tags! Coffee was much more affordable, lol ;). And YES, we had some crazy good coffee! I’m a Starbucks gal but Wyatt found this neat little coffee shop near the water that he liked very much. Of all the men in our house, he’s the one that appreciates the city most. Only the first store he headed to was Carhardts so guess you can take the boy out of the woods but can’t take the woods out of the boy!
Thinking of you and hope you and yours have a very blessed week!
Oh how I miss the West Coast!!!
And I adore that sweater and skirt combo!! I just need you to go buy it for me, oh and make me slightly taller so I son’t look like a pale tree with problems getting through doorways. Annnnnd green goes with Red…Shirt. All festive and stuff. Dontcha think? Huh?
You NEED that pink number on the left. YEAH baby!!!
Smiling big this morning at your wonderful comments, Jennifer :). YES, the pink for me and the green for you! Nothing like Morrow’s velvet dress given her by THE MAN but hey…!
The west coast misses you! I confess loving the city, rain and all, especially at Christmastime. Sigh. Want to do it all over again!
Ohhhh, I love that scene when she finally opens the package. SAH-WOOOOON.
Jennifer, I just reread that the other day and thought of you :). Oh to camp inside your head and “read” your reactions. This gives me just a taste! Thank you.
BTW, the snowy scene you posted today was to die for! Beautiful snow! Beautiful homeplace! It belongs in a book!!
Laura, you’d camp all alone inside my head, honey. All. Alone.
I don’t think so – never alone in that savvy red head of yours :)!
Big cities at Christmas…drooling here. Thanks for sharing the pictures!
I just knew there was a bit of a city girl lurking in you, Sally :). Seattle in December is quite something – I hadn’t been downtown in years! Merry Christmas to you and your busy household!
I am a big-time city girl. That’s where all my fiction is set. 🙂
Yep, love the wet sidewalks reflecting all the extra lights, the snow piling on the edge of the sidewalk and street, the displays in the windows, mmm mmm mmm.
Hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas and get as much snow as want.
You really “get” the city, Sally ~ and I love this peek into the heart of your books! For some reason you seem so contemporary to me that it would be hard to place you in a rural historical setting. So I am very thankful you take time for my archaic books :)!
Love the pictures, Laura! Was that the hotel you stayed in (where Wyatt is standing)? If so, it looks lovely! I’m happy you had such a meaningful time with your son and that he got to be with you during the photo-shoot experience. Thank you for sharing (and looking forward to what’s next)!
Blessings to you on this Monday,
Georgianne
Yes, Georgianne, this was where we stayed downtown. Right in the midst of all those skyscrapers was a Georgian dining room and hotel like something out of an 18th-century novel :). And only 2 blocks away was the Seattle market! It was wonderful being with Wyatt. He’s one of those 17 year olds that is so easy to be with, thankfully, and loves anything new. Plus he’s a good driver and helped drive home.
Can’t wait to share more photos from the actual shoot and then the cover. Hard to be quiet and not blurt :). Bless you for being here!
Oh, Laura! What a lovely time you must have had! I love the pictures! Thanks so much for sharing them. Seattle looks like a wonderful place. Being in CA, it probably wouldn’t take too long to get there . . . maybe someday. 😉
That top left photo reminds me of San Francisco for some reason. Maybe it’s the Public Market Center sign; it’s a bit like the Ghiradelli sign.
So glad that you got to spend some time with Wyatt. It truly sounds wonderful! 🙂
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!
Love & Hugs,
Michelle
Oh, I almost forgot. I meant to ask if you’ve ever been to San Francisco? If not, you should definitely go sometime. The Golden Gate Bridge is spectacular, and not to be missed! There’s so much to see and do there. It’s only 90 minutes from my house, but it’s truly like stepping into another world. I love it! 🙂
Michelle, That’s so interesting you would say that about the Golden Gate! As we were going over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Thursday (aka Galloping Gertie because it collapsed once), Wyatt told me he really wanted to go over the Golden Gate! I will tell him you said this :). He loves to travel like I do. I would love to come to your neck of the woods if only to meet you! I don’t think the trip is too long. Lots of people here drive straight thru to LA and it’s surprisingly short…
Michelle, My aunt Sandy LOVES San Francisco and says it’s her favorite city ever! Seattle is so interesting with its huge public market overlooking the waterfront and so many skyscrapers and such, some of which look like mushrooms with a little base and a towering top. Not sure how that stays up there! I think of fish and coffee when I think of Seattle and Ghiradlli when I think of San Fran :). I buy those chocolate chips for baking. And am getting ready to use them to make Christmas Eve Mice. I am pretty sure you know that recipe!
Wishing you and your loved ones a very merry, blessed Christmas! Hugs and love to you, too!
Laura, what lovely photos. The Seattle scenery makes me homesick…..
I’m excited with you and for you as you continue to write and publish–and do the cover shoot. That’s so special.
Give Randy our greetings, too.
Smiles,
Linda
Linda, I think of you and Mr. T every time I post some northwest scene like this :). Strangely enough, I haven’t been to downtown Seattle in years so this really was a treat. We usually go through the city on the way to somewhere else and love the ferries and train. The weather was 10 degrees a couple of weeks ago but almost 50 while we were on this trip. Almost a heat wave :)! I kept hoping for snow which I heard you have there.
Bless you for being here. Hope you and your loved ones have a very merry Christmas!!
Loved your pics, Laura, – it is all absolutely beautiful, so glad you had such a wonderful time! Can’t wait to see more pics from the shoot, & then the “icing on the cake”, the cover!
Loved the dresses, & décor – your son is pretty handsome, too! Bet you have to fight the girls off, at your household, with those sons (how many?)!
You mentioned the delight of being in a big city at Christmas – I’m not a big city lover, but can see how delightful it could be – visiting a big city at Christmas. I have a friend that visits NYC every Christmas season – along with all the females, in her family. Sounds like such fun, but such a costly form of entertainment!
Thanks for sharing!
Bonnie, So glad to see you here, too! Yes, Wyatt (17) is front and center here in the city. There’s also Paul (14) and Randy though Randy is taken as he’s my hubby ;). Yes, we have had some issues/interest from girls. Sigh. Guess that is normal but I have a little Mama Bear in me. I tell them 33 is a great time to get married since I did it myself!
Oh, NYC at Christmastime would indeed by amazing – but expensive, yes! Seattle was fun for window shopping and that was about it other than coffee and Cranberry Bliss bars. I did see one lovely blouse with pearl buttons and tulle collar and cuffs in a store I asked about and nearly lost my composure when I was shown the tag for $1,224. The clerk explained the cuffs and collar were detachable. I quickly made my way out! Oh to be Bill Gates ;)…
I can’t wait to share more from the shoot. We were in the studio on Friday and it was in a historic brewery building. Old and interesting. I have a whole new appreciation for cover art! The model’s dress was very heavy brocade and the lace was exquisite! Revell makes the cover live in late February and I see the final comp in late January usually. Then we can go all out on behind the scenes stuff and share :). Thanks for being a part of the joy of this. That means so much to me!
Seattle looks like a lovely city – would love to visit there one day. Glad you got some quality mother-son time 🙂
Can’t wait to see the actual photo shoot details – but this certainly helps tide us all over!
Beth
Beth, So good to see you this busy week b4 Christmas. Yikes – only a few more days! Seattle is quite ‘new’ to my historic heart but it does have its charms :). And lots of rain! I so wanted it to snow but the weather was almost 50 degrees while there.
There’s a pic posted of the shoot on my Facebook page if you want to peek – with lots more to come later on! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=625720390798348&set=a.429557470414642.85294.278890728814651&type=1&theater
I hope the wait is worth it!
Thank you for sharing, Laura! I can’t wait to see more, when you are able to share. I did see the photo on your Facebook page and loved it! What an amazing experience! I’m so happy for you.
Stacey, Sharing it with you increases the joy. Love your enthusiastic spirit! There are some great pics to come from the shoot, some which are quite hilarious. Brandon Hill has a wonderful sense of humor which clearly came out in the shoot. It will make you smile:) This was a once in a blue moon kind of experience and I doubt I will get to repeat it so it’s truly a Christmas gift from above. Thanks so much for sharing it with me!
It sounds like you had an amazing trip! I cannot wait to see the new cover! I am sure it is gorgeous. I have never been to Seattle, or Washington for that matter. Maybe one day, I will make up up there! It looks to be a lovely city!
You’d love Seattle, Emma – lots of water, fresh fish, coffee, and home to Microsoft :). Lots of great Seattle Chocolate, too, my personal favorite. I hope you like the model and dress and more to come! I’m bursting to tell you ALL of it and will soon!
Looks like you had fun and a great mother son time.
Carissa, That was the best part, actually, being with Wyatt. He’ll be moving out in about a year so time like this with him is precious. It went by so fast but I hope the memory lasts forever.
Merry Christmas to you and yours as you celebrate a true KY Christmas :)!
Oh my goodness! How did I miss this post? Laura, love your photos of your time in Seattle. It looks like you and Wyatt had a grand time. Love the pic of you in front of the Christmas tree and Wyatt has grown into such a handsome young man.
I so enjoyed seeing the photo of you and Brandon and the model the other day and I’m excited about seeing the real thing when the time comes. But it’s almost as hard to wait for the cover reveal as it is for the actual book release. LOL! Anyway, thanks for sharing your wonderful photos. 🙂
Angi, Wonderful to see you here – you’re not late :)! We had an amazing time together, traffic jams and all. So thankful to live in the woods though I do love the city. I was afraid that one photo from the shoot might be a spoiler for some and am glad it just whet your appetite. Glad it was black and white so the dress will be something of a surprise. I can’t wait to see the final cover and how they work the color scheme, etc. Soon!
Thanks for being excited about this book. I wish I’d had you with me in Seattle. You’d love Pikes Place Market. Only it was quite chilly – and we woke up to snow this morning. Thinking of you as we get closer to Christmas!